Tag Archives: toyota

Question of the Week: Which nostalgic had the best nickname?

One of the most entertaining things about vintage Japanese cars is the crazy nicknames. There’s obvious ones like hachiroku, shortened ones like hakosuka, and funny ones like butaketsu. Therefore, we ask you: Which nostalgic had the best nickname? There are … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: What nostalgic race car would you have driven?

Okay, so you’ve invented that time machine. Oddly, it can only serve one purpose — to put you in the cockpit of any classic Japanese motorsports machine. What nostalgic race car would you have driven? The JNC staff (except Kev) … Continue reading

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EVENTS: AE86 Nights 5th Anniversary

SoCal may have its drawbacks, but there aren’t many places where you can put the call out for a hachiroku party and have over 100 cars show up. AE86 Nights has been doing this almost every Saturday night since April of 2007, … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: What is the ugliest Japanese car?

Without even reading the title, you can probably guess what this week’s QotW is just by photo alone. What is the ugliest Japanese car? Sorry Kev, but I’m going to have to make an executive decision on this one. The … Continue reading

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Toyota revamps development process to build bolder cars

More good news comes pouring from the C-level offices of our beloved automakers. The latest word from Japan is that Toyota has given its product development techniques a makeover so that they’ll result in less boring cars. It appears that … Continue reading

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Nissan design chief hints at return of Silvia or lightweight Fairlady Z

Over the weekend design chief Shiro Nakamura told the Sydney Morning Herald that Nissan is looking to downsize its sports cars. “I much prefer smaller sports car,” he was quoted as saying. “It is the time to look at [smaller engines]. … Continue reading

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Shakotan: You know your car is low when…

Actually, the road-mopping tsurikawa is laying flat with the help of a carabiner, but  the point is nevertheless made. This super slammed A40 Celica honestly couldn’t be any lower without that rear diffuser getting caught on a manhole cover, but is this … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: What is Japan’s proudest marque?

The winner of last week’s QotW, “What 1987 car will be the next classic?” by a slim margin is Isaac with his short-but-simple answer, “’87 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II.” They were criticized in-period for looking too much like a Porsche 944, but … Continue reading

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Neo-86 jumpstarts Japan’s waning car culture

Even up until the mid-2000s Japan was swarming with sleek, souped up performance machines that would give any JDM nut seizures of joy. A stroll down any major street was like tracking a pre-race establishing shot from Tokyo Drift. The … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Eagle Rock Datsun-Nippon Swap Meet

Laugh all you want at our super-strict smog tests, but at the end of the day SoCal has at least one redeeming trait — enough nostalgics to hold a regular swap meet. Here’s what you missed from the recent Eagle … Continue reading

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Question of the Week: What 1987 car is the next classic?

It’s 2012 and that means another new model year has made it into the ranks of “classic.” The rolling 25 year cutoff for vehicles eligible for historic license plates and classic car insurance is now at the year of Iran-Contra, … Continue reading

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Friday Video: Gene Hackman, Toyota Celica racer

The most famous celebrity driver raced under Nissan’s white-red-blue colors, but their main rival had an Oscar-winner of their own flying the red-orange-yellow. Yes, Nissan may have had Newman, but Toyota had Hackman. After competing in the SCCA Formula Ford series … Continue reading

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Ring in the first day of spring with nostalgics and sakura

Not only is today the first day of spring, but it’s also the opening of the 100th National Cherry Blossom Festival. A century ago the mayor of Tokyo gifted 3,000 sakura trees to our nation’s capital as a sign of … Continue reading

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Friday Video: Aleks Efremov’s Cressida Wagon

MX72 love emanates round these parts like rays of a dying sun. But with supplies of Cressida wagons dwindling on American roads, we have few opportunities to show our affection. That’s why we were fortunate to find this awesomely retro video … Continue reading

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Toyota’s awesome 2012 Geneva Motor Show display

What’s happening right now is the Geneva Motor Show, traditionally the unveiling venue for six-figure European exotics.  To stand out ToMoCo had to do something special, and we’d say a pair of gleaming white RWD GT coupes fits the bill. … Continue reading

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Kidney, Anyone? 35,000-mile 1972 Toyota RT90 Corona Coupe

Ben says the RT90 Corona Coupe is ultra rare. However, I’ve found him about three to four examples floating on the lists of craig. This black-on-red ’72 is similar if not identical to the one owned by the Toyota USA … Continue reading

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Aussie Rally Champion Hoons Rebuilt RA40 Celica Rally Car

Neal Bates is a four-time Australian Rally Championship winner, long associated with Celica GT-Fours and AWD Corollas that we didn’t get here in the states. Though retired, Bates spent the last 18 months building a replica RA40 Celica rally car inspired … Continue reading

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See what Toyota USA looked like young and sexy

Toyota USA has launched its new Facebook timeline, populating it with some rarely-seen vintage photos of its early years. Like many over 50, its run into a few snags with the newfangled technology.

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Grand Touring: Nostalgic Nissans in Yamanashi Prefecture

In exploring the non-traditional Japan, you quickly learn to identify markers to indicate you are on the right track to discover something old and special — narrow roads lined with closed shutters, anything made of red brick, disconnected power meters, … Continue reading

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Grand Touring: Forgotten steel tempts rust in Aichi Prefecture

A few weekends ago, we were again exploring some outlaying areas outside of Nagoya, and in the middle of the rice fields was a small mechanic who had amazed a sizable collection of varied old Japanese cars. As distressing as … Continue reading

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